Restaurant service system



April 26, 1932. J. F. DASCHNER 1,356,058

RESTAURANT SERVICE SYSTEM Filed May 7, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 26, 1932. J. F. DASCHNER RESTAURANT SERVICE SYSTEM 3 Sheets-Sheet Filed May 7, 1931 U N N R l .H 5 2 4g 0 mfiw m a J 4 a 3% 9 G v 2 n .w

l- A A Q 0 April 26, 1932. J. F. DASCHNER RESTAURANT SERVICE SYSTEM Filed May 7, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 F/C-T. 5.

Patented Apr. 26, 1932 NET TTES RESTAURANT SERVICE SYSTEM Application filed May 7, 1931, Serial No. 535,771, and in Canada May 8, 1930.

The invention relates to a restaurant service system as described in the present specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings that form part of the same.

-The invention consists essentially in the novel means employed for filling an order sent forward from one or other of many tables, directly to the table concerned by means of a lift mechanism operating through the table as pointed out in the claims for novelty following a description in detail of an acceptable form of the invention.

The objects of the invention are to increase the efiiciency and at the same time effect economy in the operation of public restaurants and in the dining rooms of clubs, public conveyances and other places, principally by eliminating members of the waiting staff and thereby avoiding delays, tips and favoritism, which is irremediable in almost every place of entertainment where the human element is strongly in evidence in looking after the wants of guests and customers; to facilitate the work of the kitchen staff and serve the foods and drinks in a fresh and wholesome condition, that is to say, in place of allowing foods and beverages to be put aside for the time being, waiting for a waiters attention, to serve them directly to the table and consequently to the customer or guest at that table, which means that the foods are transferred directly from the pot to the table and the beverages where already decanted also transferred directly from a service room to the table, thus insuring the best of attention to the patrons of the house of entertainment; and generally to provide to the public a cleanly and sanitary method of serving foods and drinks that will dispense with much of the handling, and at the same time be both comfortable and luxurious for those who enjoy the service.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic View showing a plurality of tables, in an arrangement for this particular service.

Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view of the mechanism required in operating each table individually from a common source of power.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional detail of a table equipment showing the means of orclering, and themeans of serving.

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional detail of a table shown at right angles to the sectional detail illustrated in Figure 3 and showing the latch mechanism and the electric device for cutting out the electric current. V

Figure 5 is a plan view of the table top. Figure 6 is a perspective detail of the order carda Figure 7 is an enlarged detail of the latch mechanism. I Figure 8 is an enlarged detail of the orderswitch.

Like numerals of reference indicate cor responding parts in the various figures.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral indicates the table, which is made in any style according to the particular design fancied by the person equipping the restaurant, so long as this design includes the provision of a central well 16 closed by the lid or cover 17 this lid or cover having a bevelled v edge 18, corresponding with the bevelled edge 19 at the entrance of the well 16.

This well is usually formed of the four walls 20, 21, 22 and 23, which extend downwardly from the table top 24, through the floor 25.

There are of course many ofthese tables, 7

in fact any number desired, five, six or a hundred, as for example, in a restaurant seating three hundred people, there should be about seventy five tables, taking each table as seating four people, and in' this connection it may be noted that in such a restaurant, seating that number of people, these tables are afforded much. extra room.

in the chamber by reason of the fact that 7 all the customary serving space for counters and such like may be dispensed with for the service is entirely through the floor and through the table, that is to say, all the serv:

ice can be from below up through the many The elevator 27 is formed with the four posts 28 which enter the said recesses 26 as an elevator rises, and this elevator is supselves away from the posts which are very rigidly'secured to the base 29, that is to say,

if any person inserts the hand to take out a' dish from the elevator and by some error the elevator starts to descend, nothing of any amount will happen, as the shelf will come away with the persons hand, but in this mechanism, nothing of the kind is liable to happen, though every provision must be made for possible mistakes,

The order slots 37 and 38 are preferably made in the table outside the well, though the arrangement may be within if desirable but in. the drawings, they are shown on the outside, and from these order slots 37 and 38, the chutes 39'and 40 extend downwardly to the delivery trays 41 and 42, and these order slots 37 and 38 are closed by theorder flaps 43 held to their closed positions by the springs 44 and having the hinges 45 secured in each case to one side of the slot 37 or slot 38, the rotating hinge member carrying the contacts 46 and 47, while the fixed hinge.

member carries the electric contacts 48 and 49, the latter contacts 48 and 49 being connected through the relay 50 to a light circuit 51 for energizing a light 52, there being a light for each table, that is to say, the two order flaps form the order switches, for one light pertaining to that particular table, and the same thing happens in each table, the two order switches form the means of energizimg a lightfor the particular table, these order indicators are here shown as lights, but they may be enunciators or they may be on a board themselves, but herein they are shown as described, as being in a row, or in rows, as the case may be, and as distinctly identifying a table in each instance, sov that a cooks attendant standing at a cooks wicket may look down the whole row and when he sees a red light for example, he immediately takes the order slip from. the tray belonging to that table, and hands it in. to the cooks wicket, receives the food, beverages and. puts them into the elevator belonging to that table for service. The electric motor 53 is common to the tables and may operate a number of shafts, one main shaft 54 being shown as connected to the motor 53 by the belt and pulley driving mechanism 55.

The shaft 54. is supported from the ceilin by the hangers and bearings 56.

There are a number of cable elevating mechanisms connected with this main shaft, and indicated in Figure 1 by the numeral 57, and each cable elevating mechanism is the same, so only one will be described.

The driving gear 58 in the one mechanism about to be described is mounted in the main shaft 54, and rotatable thereon ,and nonslidable.

The gear 58 is dished at 59 to receive the friction clutch 6O correspondingly shaped.

' The friction clutch 60' has: an extended hub 61 and this hub is slidable on the main shaft 54 and non-rotatable thereon, therefore the clutch 60 is movable to and from, the gear 58.

The brackets 62 are suspended from the ceiling and support the solenoids 63 and the cores 64 of said solenoids are resiliently held to their outward positions by the springs 65.

The core 64 are connected by the yoke 66 to the hub 61 in the groove 67 and the solenoids are connected to a suitable source of power hereby indicated by the battery 68 or any other electrical means. for energizing them, and in this circuit, the main switch 69-is included, which is operated by the switch handle 70, thus by closing the main switch 69, the solenoids will be energized and draw in the cores, which results in sliding the'clutch 60 on the shaft 54, and bringing said clutch into contact with the gear 58. V

The gear 58 is freely rotatable on the shaft 54, in non-operating conditions, therefore when the clutch moves to this gear, said gear becomes the driving gear of the elevating mechanism.

The c-oacting gear 71 is mounted on'thc counter shaft 72, journalled'in hanger bean ings 73 from the ceiling, and this counter shaft 72 carries the. worm 74 coacting with the worm wheel 75. I

The worm wheel 75 is mounted on the drum shaft 76 j ournalled in the hanger bearings 77 from the ceiling, and this drum shaft 76 carries the cable drum 78 on which the cable 79 is wound.

The cable79 extends from the drum 78 and is trained around the pulleys 80 and 81 and extends down the well and .engages the pull-eys 31 and 32 under the elevator and extends upwardly and is fastened at 82 at the other side of the well, thus when the cable drum is rotated and winds up the cable the elevator is lifted and if necessary of course there may be rollers in difierent parts of the elevator to facilitate the easy running of the elevator,

that is a matter for the constructor. The bottom of the elevator carries a connector plate 83 as a switch member.

The latch 84 is slidably mounted in the straps 85 and has a stem 86 extending rear- 1 which also forms an abutment for the spring.

The pin 89 having the knob 90 extends T 5 through the slot 91 in the table top and is rigidly secured to the latch 84 and it is by means of this pin and knob that the latch is withdrawn against the pressure of the spring 87.

The latch on its top surface carries the contacts 92 and 93, which are joined by the connector plate 83 and just as soon as the elevator pushes back the latch it rises there- 'fl', over and rests on said latch, and these contacts are connected to the solenoid 94, through any suitable means of energizing herein indicated by the battery 95 and the core 96, of this solenoid is pivotally connected to the handle 70 of the main switch 69, so that when the elevator rises, over the latch and connects the contacts 92 and 93, the solenoid 94 is energized and pulls the switch handle 70, and consequently cuts out said solenoids 63 thereby relieving the load of that elevator from the main motor drive.

The bevelled gear 97 is fixedly secured to the main, driving gear 58 and encircles the main shaft 54, though free therefrom, and this bevelled gear coacts with a bevelled gear 98 journalled in a loose bearing 99 strapped around and free from the main shaft 54 though non-slidable thereon, as shown by the collar 100.

The governor 101 is mounted on the shaft :2 extending upwardly from the bevelled gear 98 and this governor through its spreading lengths 103 from the balls 104 draws on the coacting bars 105 secured to the band brake 106, which engages the counter shaft 72.

Consequently when the latch 84 is released by sliding the pin 89 in the slot 91 in the table top, the elevator will at once begin to descend, and this descent is controlled by the worm and wheel driving mechanism, though any tendency to increase in the speed downwardly due to the weight of dishes is further controlled by the band brake, which is immediately drawn tight by the governor on the counter shaft 72 on any excess speed of the driving gear 58, which has been released from the clutch on the de-energization of the solenoids 63.

In the operation of this invention the tables are all prepared by an attendant in the dining room, and as a rule there is some form of overseer looking after mat ers generally.

This attendant or floor manager is of course always at hand to tell people just what to expect in the way of service, but he does not necessarily do anything in the way of serving the people, for they will be served themselves from the kitchen below.

The patron or patrons take their seats at a table and are furnished with order cards, indicated by the numeral 10" held in the clip 108, this clip is merely to add weight in the manner that they are used.

The order is written on the card and is then insertedin one of the order slots in the top of the table, this operates the hinge,

table and takes away the order slip and hands it to the cool: who prepares the food as ordered.

The server then takes this food to the serving table, indicated by the numeral 109 which has a central recess 110 for the table slide, puts his tray down and moves the prepared dishes on to the trays of the elevator belonging to that particular table.

The main switch 69 is then closed by pushing in the handle 7 0 and this energizes the solenoids 63 and moves the clutch 60 into engagement with the gear wheel 58.

The wheel 58 drives the gear in turn drives the worm and worm wheel mechanism and. cable drum.

The cable drum winds up the cable and lifts the elevator until the bottom of the elevator comes in contact with the latch 84. The connector plate 83 moves the latch back and then sits on top, which supports the elevator to its upper position. Meanwhile the posts of the elevator have engaged in the recesses of the lid 17 and raise it to its upper position. r i

The dishes now may be removed from the elevator trays and as soon as this is done, the latch is withdrawn, but it maybe pointed out that as the elevator sits on the latch, the main switch has been withdrawn so that there is no current at all being used of anykind and as soon as the latch has been withdrawn, as explained, the elevator descends by its own weight and settles-down in the middle of the serving table ready for the next order.

The lid 17 drops down with the elevator until it completes the table top as in the beginmng. 1

This same operation happens in every service, and there is practically noelectric current wasted, in fact the system is very eco nomical in operation, for the main motor when there are no tables in use can be cut off for the time being in the usualmanner,

71 land this and when the tables are in use, the power required for this main motor is comparative.- ly light for there-are never very many tables operating at the same time, usually not more than two or three, and often only one, and it is not at all the same as if all the elevators went up together, then a motor of considerable size may be required, but it is really only necessary to have a motor large enough to turn the shafts idly and supplement this with a slight acceleration to carry the possible loads.

Of course, as a matter of fact the maximum load is estimated and a motor provided to operateat this maximum capacity and the moment that tables are disengaged why the motor switch cuts off the power, so there is prac tically no loss whatsoever.

' It must be understood that this mechanism may be operated by some other power, that is to say, a power in which electricity is not the chief motive force, as by a re-arrangement of the parts, it will be found possible to use, air, gasoline, oil, steam or manual power as the drivingforce. V

In the event of the use of hydraulic power, the complete lifting and lowering mechanism illustrated in Figure 2 would necessarily be replaced by hydraulic shaft and well and by accompanying suitable control mechanism and operating lever, in fact no matter which power is used in the lifting and lowering of the table center various changes must be made. In the drawings and specification, only one control -mechanism is shown and described in order that the workability of the invention may be proved as it is obvious that each power has its own particular method of application.

What I claim is 1. In a restaurant'service system, a plurality of tables, elevatable devices liftable through said tables, means for lifting said elevatable devices includinga' clutch member in the lifting mechanism for each table and a motive power machine common to the several lifting mechanisms.

'2. In a restaurant service system, a plurality of tables having central openings and wells extending downwardly through the floor and lids covering in said wells, service 7 members adapted to rise and fall in said wells and engaging and lifting said lids, means in dividual to each table for supporting and lifting said service members and having releasable clutch members electrically I operated and a motive power machine common to the several sets of lifting means.

3. In a'restaurant service system, a plurality of tables standing on the floor and hav ing central wells extending below said floor and lids covering said wells, elevatable service members slidably arranged in said wells, arablelifting mechanism for each of said service members and secured at one end of each of said wells and extending under the service members, a gear mechanism for each of said tables having a cable drum for said cable and a clutch member electrically operated, a main shaft operating said gear mechanism through said clutch member and a motor driving said shaft.

4. In a restaurant service system, a plurality of tables each having acentral well and standing on the floor through which said wells extend, lids covering in said wells, elevatable service members carrying loose trays and slide members slidably mounted in said wells, cables trained around said service members and adapted to lift the same and raisesaid lids, a main shaft, a plurality of gear mechanism corresponding with the num ber of tables and coacting worm and worm wheel mechanisms, cable drums for said cables mounted on the worm shafts and clutches on the main shaft electrically operated by'individual switches to engage the main driving gear of each set respectively and a motor driving said shaft.

5. In a restaurant service system, a plurality of rows of tables having wells extending downwardly through the floor supporting said tables and order card chutes extending downwardly from order slots in said tables and carrying trays at the end thereof, order slot flaps spring held totheir closed positions, and having electrical contacts on moving and stationary parts respectively, a pluralityof signals corresponding in num her to the number of tables, electrically connected to said flap contacts, service elevatable devices rising and falling in said wells, means for operating said elevatable devices and an order card suitably weighted and inserted in one or other of said chutes by opening a flap to operate a signal corresponding tothe table.

6. In a restaurant service system, a plurality of tables standing on a floor, and having wells extending downwardly through said floor and lids covering in said wells, elevatable service devices slidably arranged in said wells, individual means for operating said elevatable devices selectively connected to a common motive power, electrical means for selecting the individual elevating means having a manual operating electrical switch, a latch mechanism in each well, supporting said elevatable members and having electrical contacts connected in supporting a service member, solenoids operatively connected to said electrical switches, electrical connections from each latch contact to each of said solenoids, suitably energized and operating the aforesaid electrical switches, and means for signalling from each table and conveying the order card.

7 In a restaurant service system, a plurality of tables and signal mechanisms individual to each table, and having conveying mechanism therefrom for an order card, means for lifting a service elevator upwardly through each table from therebeneath,

means for commonly driving the liftable means and means for individually releasing the" lifting means and concentrating the power on one or more of the individual means.

8. In a restaurant service system, a table having a well in the centre thereof suitably covered, a service member liftable through said well, adapted to disappear downwardly therein, a conveyer tube having a tray extension at the lower end and a card slot-at the upper end and extending through a corresponding slot in said table, a card flap spring held to its closed position and operating elec- I trical contacts to close a light circuit and a light operated in said light circuit.

9. In a restaurant service system, a plurality of tables having lift Wells therein and lift devices carrying service trays operable in said Wells, gear mechanism mounted below each of said tables and connected to a corresponding lift mechanism, cable lift mechanism for said lift devices, an electric motor operatively connected to each of said gear mechanisms, clutch members electrically operated for selectively operating one or more of said gear mechanisms, means for cutting out the connections to said electrically operating means and for dropping each lift device through gravity and means for controlling the speed of each lift device in its down- Ward movement.

Signed at New York city, New York, this 17th day of February, 1931.

JOHN FRANK DASCHNER. 

